Wednesday, November 17, 2010

I decided it was time to pull myself out of the quagmire of the landbound and drove (!) over to the east coast of Fla to look at a Light-Sport airplane to replace the Bonanza (which isn't sold yet, but don't tell HER). These pictures are from Trade-a-Plane, a thrice-monthly paper that has been THE source for dreamers since the 1930s:

Long story short, I like it. Short story long, there are a couple of things about it that I'd like to change: There is a console that runs between the seats and flares out to meet the instrument panel. I wish the designers (who obviously were trying to make it more car-like) hadn't done that because it rubs against the outside of my knee to an uncomfortable extent.

The other thing is easily adjustable - when the heels of my size 12s are resting on the floorboard the balls of my feet are in contact with the brakes (rudder pedals these days are hinged so that the top part of the pedal is the brake pedal - each foot controls its respective brake. In the old days the brakes were heel pedals, making for an interesting ballet when landing). Maybe I'm just picky. This from a guy who used to drive English cars. Go figure.

So longer story than intended, shorter, I didn't buy it. Not that I wouldn't, I just didn't. Maybe the right airplane for me hasn't come along yet.